WASHINGTON, Aug. 12, 2013 – The biotechnology wars continue: Liberal policy advocacy group MoveOn has launched its own GMO labeling campaign. The group says more than 130,000 people in 35 cities participated Friday in a “National Day of Action.”
The events come as many anti-genetically modified (GM) food groups ramp up state labeling initiatives. New York, Vermont and Massachusetts are all considering GMO-labeling provisions, and Connecticut and Maine passed related legislation this year. Democratic lawmakers introduced federal labeling legislation in both Houses in April.
According to MoveOn’s website, Friday’s action members participated in “petition deliveries, speak outs, rallies, and Monsanto Challenge taste tests.” The taste tests asked “ordinary folks” on the street to differentiate between genetically modified and organic corn – but not before participants were warned that the genetically modified product “may contribute to blood abnormalities like anemia or leukemia.”
The scientific community might beg to differ. In June 2012, the American Medical Association came out against GMO labeling, saying, “There is no scientific justification for special labeling of bioengineered foods, as a class, and…voluntary labeling is without value unless it is accompanied by focused consumer education.”
Late last month, agricultural biotechnology companies that develop GMO technology launched a new website to provide concerned consumers with “a new conversation, public Q&A, and central online resource for information on GMOs, their background, use in agriculture, and research and data in one easy-to-access public resource.”
MoveOn did not respond to requests for comment.
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